Old Plasma Screen (What to do/BNC adaptors)

Project Mayhem

So I just recieved a Pioneer PDP V402 for free. A couple of questions...

It uses BNC (standard A/V yellow or the RGB cables) or VGA inputs. What should i expect to pay for an RCA phono to BNC adaptor.

It has slight burn in, it was used at the science center out here so this is expected... is there anything that can be done about this?

Finally, what should I do with it? It's not the greatest quality and it's almost 7 years old. I thought about hooking it up to an atari and making a coffee table out of it to play pong. It would be nice to be able to watch tv on it though.

This is really the only link i can give you http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/service/support/article/0,,2076_4259_47111,00.html

Ok and this too http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/pioneer-pdpv402.html

Thanatos

You do not have a BNC connection to a plasma TV. I cannot imagine that being the case. BNC stands for British Nut Connector, and it's the industrial version of a coaxial connection. What I think you're thinking of is a composite, or RCA connection. Am I correct? Three inputs, one yellow, one white, and one red?

blincoln

Some older gear uses BNC connectors for RGB. I had a Sony 17" monitor from the early 90s that did, for example. It came with a VGA cable that split out into either three or four (RGB + sync maybe?), it's been gone a long time now, so I can't check for sure.

Also, back in the day, I saw a lot of studio AV gear (video mixers and whatnot) that used BNC instead of RCA.

RCA -> BNC adaptors should be very cheap, like around $3 at Fry's.

Thanatos

blincoln wrote:

Some older gear uses BNC connectors for RGB. I had a Sony 17" monitor from the early 90s that did, for example. It came with a VGA cable that split out into either three or four (RGB + sync maybe?), it's been gone a long time now, so I can't check for sure.

Also, back in the day, I saw a lot of studio AV gear (video mixers and whatnot) that used BNC instead of RCA.

RCA -> BNC adaptors should be very cheap, like around $3 at Fry's.

It's seven years old. That's not generally anywhere near old enough to have a BNC connection, unless it was a specialized commercial model of some sort.

blincoln

Thanatos wrote:

unless it was a specialized commercial model of some sort.

I think that's maybe what it is. The tech specs Project Mayhem linked to specifically call out RGB as a separate input, and this page lists a bunch of BNC connectors.

Zeon

Thanatos wrote:

You do not have a BNC connection to a plasma TV. I cannot imagine that being the case. BNC stands for British Nut Connector, and it's the industrial version of a coaxial connection. What I think you're thinking of is a composite, or RCA connection. Am I correct? Three inputs, one yellow, one white, and one red?

If you check out the specs on the website he linked, it does infact have BNC connectors for composite cables... Thats... odd.

Anyway, check radioshack, or a place like radioshack... They probably come in a generic composite -> bnc pack, like 6 for 10 bucks or something.

nexuscrawler

Almost all pro equipment uses BNC cables still. It was probabyl aimed at pros originally

blincoln

Radio Shack's adapter prices are crap, at least in the Seattle area. As much as I hate Fry's for having clueless staff, theirs are roughly half the price of Radio Shack's in my experience.

Thanatos

blincoln wrote:

Thanatos wrote:

unless it was a specialized commercial model of some sort.

I think that's maybe what it is. The tech specs Project Mayhem linked to specifically call out RGB as a separate input, and this page lists a bunch of BNC connectors.

I get a 404 on the link, so I couldn't tell.

Project Mayhem

thanks guys, i'll probably order the adapters online, as there are only radio shacks near me. still... any fun ideas of what to use it for apart from tv viewing... it's only 640x480

blincoln

Any console from the previous gen or before is where I'd start.

If you ever decide to buy a higher-res screen, you could turn this one into some fancy wall art by hooking it up to a PC running music visualizations or something.

kingmetal

the only thing I've ever used BNC for was worldclock sync on pro audio gear (although I know there are a range of uses for this connection type). I would doubt that was it, so maybe it was just a goofy standard when this TV came out.

LondonBridge

You can adapters at a Radio Shack. As for the burn-in it can fade out with normal viewing over time when the phosphors burn evenly.

CailYoung

Plasma monitors of a certain age, and indeed any professional-grade video equipment uses BNC for any video connection, whether it's RGBHV, component, SDI, HD-SDI...

Finally,

BNC is an acronym for "Bayonet Neill Concelman" and is named after inventors Paul Neill & Carl Concelman.

vonPoonBurGer

nexuscrawler wrote:

Almost all pro equipment uses BNC cables still.

Is true. Partly because the connectors lock onto the jack, preventing accidental disconnection, but the bigger reason is the impedance characteristics of the connector.